OUR CATALOG
Sarabah
A film by Maria Luisa Gambale & Gloria Bremer, Executive Produced by Steven Lawrence
US/Senegal | 2011 | 60 minutes | Color | DVD | French/German/Diola/Wolof | Subtitled | Order No. 111036
SYNOPSIS
PRESS
"Highly recommended… This film does a remarkable job of promoting education about "a painful tradition" without falling into clichés or stereotypes... Beyond this larger story, the film also demonstrates the power of music..."
"Highly recommended. A moving and hopeful documentary..skillfully addresses the complexities of social transformation that challenge traditions and beliefs about women’s socialization."
"Give(s) us the exuberance and drive of a young woman artist whose brand of stardom eschews designer gowns and red carpets. She is Sister Fa. Her medium is rap and hip-hop and her message is emancipation."
“For a continent in which almost half the population is under 15 years old, Sister Fa’s fierce combination of talent and activism may be the most effective formula for social change.”
"The film is a sensitive portrait of a woman whose artistic life has become wholly devoted to the awareness and education music can bring to people...Ultimately hopeful and inspiring, the film depicts strategies for education and organizing using music for social change."
SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS
- Movies That Matter Film Festival, Winner, Golden Butterfly Award
- WINNER Cine Golden Eagle
- Best Mid-Length Documentary, Montreal International Black Film Festival
- Mill Valley Film Festival
- Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
- Nashville Film Festival
- St. John's Int'l Women's Film Festival
- Citizen Jane Film Festival
- Heartland Film Festival
- Salem Film Fest
- Montreal Black Film Festival
- Michigan Womyns Music Festival
- Reykjavik Shorts&Docs Festival
- Berkshire International Film Festival
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Maria Luisa Gambale has worked for the past thirteen years as a cinematographer. She was the Director of Photography and Assistant Producer for the feature-length documentary "Reconstruction," which was shot in Romania in 1998 and distributed to international film festivals in 2001, including the Berlin International Film Festival, the IDFA, and the MoMA Documentary Fortnight. Her main focus is documentary, but she has pursued extensive training in lighting for fiction and has completed photography on three short fiction films. Maria also teaches adults, teenagers and children at the International Film & Video Workshops in Rockport, Maine; the Reelworks Film Lab in New York City; and in elementary schools in Westchester County, New York. She previously volunteered at Witness, a non-profit organization that works with NGOs around the world, using video and internet technology to expose human rights abuse and empower victims. Maria has a BA from Harvard University. (3/11)
As a producer, director and editor, Gloria Bremer has worked on documentary projects spanning music, science, comedy, activism, and sports. Her work has been shown on PBS, Comedy Central, National Geographic, Discovery, HGTV, ESPN, and TNT. Gloria recently produced “The Mis-Informant”, a two-part spoof starring Jack Black as Nathan Spewman, an undercover misconception agent, or a liar for hire. Gloria is currently in production on THE SUN IMAGINES DARKNESS, a feature-length documentary. The film explores how polarized definitions of good and evil result in both tragic and comic fallout through three remarkable storylines. Other recent collaborations include: THE FURIOUS FORCE OF RHYMES, a documentary exploring hip hop as a global voice of activism for Arte and the Smithsonian Channel; MASTERS OF THE MUSLIM WORLD, a survey of extraordinary musical artists, including Kayhan Kalhor and Mariem Hassan; and BLUEPRINT FOR ACCOUNTABILITY: WORKING THE DARK SIDE with the Culture Project and LinkTV. For a few years, Gloria could be found in cypress swamps, kelp forests, and quinzees making science television. She directed the pilot for “SciGirls,” a series now on PBS Kids. Before that, she spent four seasons as creative director and series co-producer for “DragonFlyTV,” again for PBS Kids. She also co-produced SHOOT DOWN, a documentary feature about the political drama of two civilian Cessnas shot down by Cuban MiGs. Gloria briefly fell into the new media rabbit hole, when she became Editor of New Talk.org, an online forum dedicated to live discussions between experts and policymakers on the knottier problems of our time. (01/20)